Attila
name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A short, fringed cape worn as part of traditional Hungarian costume.
"In the Magyar costume, his heart beating more proudly under the national attila, he passed before the eyes of the peasants who had known him when a child, and had fought under his orders; and he spoke to them by name, recognizing many of his old companions in these poor people with cheeks tanned by the sun, and heads whitened by age."
- 2 Any of the tropical flycatchers of the genus Attila.
"In the scrubby woods that cover most of the Yucatan, suboscines such as the masked tityra, the bright-rumped attila, and the boat-billed flycatcher are all common."
- 1 A king of the tribes of Huns. historical
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"That sea monster was no other than the enormous shark, which has often been mentioned in this story and which, on account of its cruelty, had been nicknamed "The Attila of the Sea" by both fish and fishermen."
Etymology
Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἀττίλα (Attíla), of uncertain further origin. Traditionally thought to have been derived from East Germanic, such as a Gothic *𐌰𐍄𐍄𐌹𐌻𐌰 (*attila, literally “little father”), from 𐌰𐍄𐍄𐌰 (atta, “father”) + -𐌹𐌻𐌰 (-ila). A more recent explanation by Bonnman-Fries (2025) suggests a Yeniseian origin, specifically an Arinic language. The proper name is explained as deriving from a Common Yeniseian adjective complex *atɨ-λa (“quite swift, quite fast”); see there for more. Compare also Bactrian Χιγγιλο (Khingilo), Brahmi 𑀔𑀺𑀗𑁆𑀕𑀺𑀮 (Khiṇgila), the name of a leader of the Alchon Huns, which could prove that the diminutive -ila is of Hunnic origin.
Related phrases
More for "attila"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.